A wealth of material exists for anyone wanting to know more about the flora and fauna that inhabit the Louisiana State Arboretum and the region in which it is situated.

Plant Taxonomy: Just what is the deal about plant names?

To begin with, there are two kinds of plant names, one I will call common names, the other I call the scientific name. A plant may have innumerable common names, these

names can vary between field guides, regions, states, parishes, even from one side of your fence with your neighbor to the other or even between your grandmothers, and guess what they are all correct. There are no wrong common names. In fact I like to give plants my own version of a common name - it is fun you should try it sometime.

The second type of plant name is what I call the scientific name. The scientific name consists of three parts. The first part is called the generic name, with the first letter always capitalized - it is used like your last name. The second part of the scientific name is called specific name, this part of the name is not capitalized, it is used like your given name. The third part names the authority(s) responsible for first naming and describing of the new plant, this part of the name is capitalized and abbreviated.

Carolus Linnaeus (1753), the Swedish naturalist, established this binomial system of nomenclature for plant naming in which each plant has a generic and species name followed by an author initial. Plants fall in categories based on similarities in fruit or flower. They are placed in the following categories in descending sequence: (note where Generic name, specific name fall in this categorization) Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies, Variety, and Forma. Based on this classification, a Family is a group of related Genera and a genus is a group of related species. Some consider the species of a genus to be so closely related that they may have been derived from the same parents.

Plants that belong to the same family are like cousins in your family. You may or not share a common last name with you cousins. Family names always end in -aceae.

You will notice that the family, genus and species names are all in Latin. This form of naming is standard world wide. Even if you communicate in Mandarin Chinese or Inuit, we all know what plant you are describing.

There are probably around 35 families of plants represented in the body of trees, shrubs and vines here in the Louisiana Arboretum (Arbo, as I like to call it). Fagaceae, the Beech family is the largest here, represented by 12 kinds of oak and of course, American Beech. Oleaceae, the Olive family is represented by two kinds of Ash, Green and White, Fringetree and Swamp Privet. Juglandaceae, is the Walnut family represented by three hickories, Pignut, Bitternut and Mockernut and of course Black Walnut. Rosaceae, the Rose family has four representatives in the Arbo- Black Cherry, Cherry Laurel, Parsley Haw and Soutern Crab Apple, and a partridge in a pear tree, I think you catch my drift.

Resource List for Plant Information

The naturalists of the Louisiana State Arboretum and others who have helped compile information for the interpretive signage at the arboretum have shared this list of basic resources for information about plant species and natural habitats:

Louisiana State Arboretum Documents

Listing of plant specimens housed in the Louisiana State Arboretum's Herbarium. All of the plants listed were collected at the Arboretum and most of them before 2006.

Kershner, Bruce. National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. New York: Sterling, 2008. Little, Elbert L., Sonja Bullaty, and Angelo Lomeo. The Audubon Society field guide to North American trees. New York: Knopf distributed by Random House, 1980.

Martin, Alexander C., Herbert S. Zim, and Arnold L. Nelson. American wildlife & plants : a guide to wildlife food habits : the use of trees, shrubs, weeds, and herbs by birds and mammals of the United States. New York: Dover Publications, 1961.

Miller, James H., and Karl V. Miller. Forest plants of the Southeast and their wildlife uses. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2005.

A wealth of material exists for anyone wanting to know more about the flora and fauna that inhabit the Louisiana State Arboretum and the region in which it is situated.

Plant Taxonomy: Just what is the deal about plant names?

To begin with, there are two kinds of plant names, one I will call common names, the other I call the scientific name. A plant may have innumerable common names, these

names can vary between field guides, regions, states, parishes, even from one side of your fence with your neighbor to the other or even between your grandmothers, and guess what they are all correct. There are no wrong common names. In fact I like to give plants my own version of a common name - it is fun you should try it sometime.

The second type of plant name is what I call the scientific name. The scientific name consists of three parts. The first part is called the generic name, with the first letter always capitalized - it is used like your last name. The second part of the scientific name is called specific name, this part of the name is not capitalized, it is used like your given name. The third part names the authority(s) responsible for first naming and describing of the new plant, this part of the name is capitalized and abbreviated.

Carolus Linnaeus (1753), the Swedish naturalist, established this binomial system of nomenclature for plant naming in which each plant has a generic and species name followed by an author initial. Plants fall in categories based on similarities in fruit or flower. They are placed in the following categories in descending sequence: (note where Generic name, specific name fall in this categorization) Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies, Variety, and Forma. Based on this classification, a Family is a group of related Genera and a genus is a group of related species. Some consider the species of a genus to be so closely related that they may have been derived from the same parents.

Plants that belong to the same family are like cousins in your family. You may or not share a common last name with you cousins. Family names always end in -aceae.

You will notice that the family, genus and species names are all in Latin. This form of naming is standard world wide. Even if you communicate in Mandarin Chinese or Inuit, we all know what plant you are describing.

There are probably around 35 families of plants represented in the body of trees, shrubs and vines here in the Louisiana Arboretum (Arbo, as I like to call it). Fagaceae, the Beech family is the largest here, represented by 12 kinds of oak and of course, American Beech. Oleaceae, the Olive family is represented by two kinds of Ash, Green and White, Fringetree and Swamp Privet. Juglandaceae, is the Walnut family represented by three hickories, Pignut, Bitternut and Mockernut and of course Black Walnut. Rosaceae, the Rose family has four representatives in the Arbo- Black Cherry, Cherry Laurel, Parsley Haw and Soutern Crab Apple, and a partridge in a pear tree, I think you catch my drift.